For quite a long time, gospel music was regarded as the most patronized genre of Ghanaian music in Ghana;but in the last couple of years, that unsubstantiated assertion seems to be fizzling out – www.entertainmentgh.com has noticed!

This portal , www.entertainmentgh.com has also observed the performance list for the VGMA in the last four years and the revelation is quite telling; that gospel, in the eyes of Charterhouse Ghana (organizers), is not really in ‘high demand’ as opined by stakeholders within the fraternity.

Diana Hamilton is the only gospel artiste that has been enlisted to perform at the main event of the 20th edition of the awards, scheduled for Saturday, May 18, 2019.

She shares the stage with other artistes including Sarkodie, Shatta Wale, Stonebwoy, and Samini.

There’s more; Kuami Eugene, KiDi, King Promise and Kwesi Arthur, with AMG Medikal in the mix. There’s still more – as Amakye Dede and Sydney complete the list of ‘local’ performers.

Now, here’s the trend that could raise some concern among gospel aficionados;

In 2018, Joe Mettle was the only gospel artiste to mount the stage. In 2017, a Nacee-led Gospel All-Stars occupied the only slot,while in 2016, Joe Mettle was the only gospel representative in a long list of other performers.

‘Press On Kids’, a child development organisation, has launched a double album in a colourful ceremony to bring to the fore music designed to teach children godliness and good morals as a way of preparing them to be responsible adults.

The albums are ‘Sing the word’ volume two, which helps children to memorise scriptures easily and ‘Hymns We Love’, which is a collection of popular hymns revised in a child-friendly manner.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the launch on Sunday at the World Changers Faith Church, Ashaley Botwe, the Executive Director of ‘Press On Kids’, Mr. Worlanyo Afenyo, said the concept of the album Sing the word is “to put scripture to music for easy memorisation. So we take the word of God and quote it as it is written and compose music with it.”

Mr. Afenyo hinted that music was one of the most effective ways of committing any information to memory, “And as children of God, we believe the word of God is the most important thing we need to keep in our hearts.”

He said his outfit targeted children because he felt they were the future of the nation and that their minds and hearts were so fertile that whatever was planted in them would grow. “And so we’re packaging the word of God to reach these children,” he stressed.

He said the songs were also designed to instil patriotism in the children, and ‘Hymns of Love’ picked songs which shared values such as integrity, truthfulness, among others, and an earlier album that had songs that educated the young ones on the national pledge and anthem.

“So the whole concept of ‘Press On Kids’ is to build confidence in these children, give them the platform to express themselves to become good citizens and leaders for both God and country, and most importantly to hide God’s word in their hearts so that these virtues would build them for the future,” he said.

Mr. Afenyo said, together with his wife, Mrs. Pearl Afenyo, they were motivated to launch “Press On Kids” because much of the Christian musical materials for children in Ghana were foreign and that some of these materials had contents that were not good for children.

He urged church leaders not to play down on the potentials of children because some of them had tremendous abilities that could be developed early so that the church would not lose them to the world.

He asked government to make policies that were for the future because children were the owners of the nation and these policies must be designed to protect their future.

Mr. Afenyo appreciated parents and partners who assisted in the launch and asked them to identify the potentials in their children and look for avenues to develop such talents, “For you would never know what is hidden in them because tomorrow they would be leading the future.”

Reverend Winfred Kwasi Afenyo of the Global Evangelical Church, in a sermon before the launch, indicated that to press on in life, the children must dream big and take actions in realising their dreams while they memorised and sang the word of God at all times.

Recounting the need to help children press on as a way of safeguarding “our own future,” the Reverend Minister encouraged government to do more to build a solid future for Ghanaian children so that they could take over some day as leaders of the nation.

Rev. Afenyo, who was also the father of the Executive Director of ‘Press On Kids’, asked parents to celebrate their children as a way of encouraging them to do their best instead of always picking on their weaknesses which made them lose confidence and fail to develop their potentials.

Press On Kids’ is a non-denominational Christian organisation put together to craft and promote a viable future for children by imbibing in them values of godliness while they sang and memorised scriptures.

The organisation also trains children to play musical instruments and unearth their potentials which are developed for the betterment of their lives, the church of God and the nation

Veteran highlife musician, Rex Omar, noted for composing some ‘adult music’ is of the view that God, who created human being understands sexual immorality.

The songwriter, speaking on the Delay Show explained that what humans define as sexual immorality is actually a relationship between a man and a woman which he finds not wrong.

“It is God who created us. God understand sexual immorality. What we as humans call sexual immorality is a relationship between a man and a woman. There is nothing sexually immoral about me writing about my wife. Abiba is my wife. Konka: ‘AbenaMma pa maame’ is my wife’s name. So like a songwriter, if I write about my wife or like a painter, and you see it as sexually immoral; I can decide to paint my wife’s naked picture or half naked picture, she is my wife,” he said.

Narrating his reason for composing sexually explicit songs, Rex Omar explained that sex sells but songs deemed reasonable and sensible do not sell.

“Sensible songs don’t sell at that time. That was the time; the group Nakorex split and people had forgotten Rex Omar; so I needed to bounce back. I released Kotosa and I think that album has a whole lot of good songs which I promoted but did not receive the needed attention,” he said.

“It was during that period I had been to England to work. I visited Ghana to hear songs like Gyedu-Blay Ambolley’s Radoradozo (woman e nyash, something dey der) making hits. I said to myself, okay, this is what they want. Upon my return to England, I remembered I called my wife and said to her, look, I’m going to write songs about you and don’t bring your ‘Chrifey’ here. So I wrote Abiba, Konka and some other songs and it worked,” Rex Omar added.

Formerly, a member of the trio Nakorex, comprising of Akosua Agyapong, Amandzeba and Rex Omar were individual signees under a single management.

He stated that the group name Nakorex was a suggestion from Amandzeba due to their financial difficulties.

They arranged to bring two of their individual songs together to be recorded with the help of Mr Kwakye of Ghana Films which immediately made a hit.

In your trying times, look at your problem like an obstacle that you need to overcome

Life has so many options on how one can progress, stay at a particular destination for long or even retrogress.

Living a successful life is hailed by a section in society whilst others question your swift progress.

For those who have remained unproductive for long time do have few well-wishers encouraging them of a better day ahead but they are not left the hook by the critics who will tag them as individuals who are valueless in the society.

For those who keep declining have a similar share of the cake as the intermediates. They live a miserable life in society because they feel lonely and unloved.

Tough time makes you very strong both internally and externally. Hard times are like a washing machine, they twist, turn and knock us around, but in the end, we come out cleaner, brighter & stronger than before.

In such a hard moment, meditation or prayer, visualize handing those items over to your higher power and letting them go. Then focus on what you can control, like your self-care, your words, your actions and your decisions.

If you reflect on this for a moment, what you will typically find is that the vast majority of these reasons are actually based on your perspective of the situation. In other words, you are actually aggravating your feelings by thinking a certain way about the situation.

People will at times say and do things that will hurt you. However, often these things have nothing to do with you but are rather based on people’s own insecurities and personal problems.

Given this, it’s imperative that you don’t take things personally, and instead practice detaching yourself from these emotional experiences.

Award-winning gospel musician, Joyce Blessing has said she is too big a brand to fight over awards.

Joyce Blessing was asked on the Late Night Celebrity show on ETV whether she was comfortable with her two VGMA nominations; Gospel Artiste of the Year and Gospel Song of the Year at the 2019 Vodafone Ghana Music Awards.

The Repent hit-maker told the show host Foster Romanus that she has won for herself 22 awards just within 6 years in the gospel ministry and hence not necessary to fight over awards.

‘I’m a big artiste, my brand is huge so why would I go around gallivanting and fighting back at organizers because of awards’, She Replied.

The gospel crooner added that being presented with an award is an honour to her so it would not be necessary to fight when organizers of award schemes do not want to honour her.

Joyce Blessing is currently promoting her latest tracks, Repent and Di Asa.

People relate and share issues with their close friends, family or even a counsellor when they realise something is getting them depressed or out of line.

There is a generally accepted believe which supports sharing your problems, because it’s believed through that your solutions might surface.

But gospel musician, Empress Gifty Adorye has urged married couples to resort to solving their own problems than opening up to people outside it.

According to her, sharing one’s problems with a friend or a family member, is tantamount to digging one’s own grave.

She explained that “the more you run to people, the more you make mistakes.”

Mrs Adorye thinks the best way to solve marital problems is to have a deeper communication with your spouse.

“Running to pastors, spiritual mothers and fathers will only deepen your woes”, she added.

She told host of Adom FM’s Work and Happiness show, OPD, that “the more you run to people the more you make mistakes. Talk to your spouse first. If you want to part ways, It shouldn’t be a fight and it shouldn’t be a yoke upon your life.

“If you have a problem, don’t go to your pastor, spiritual mother, and fathers. The people you are talking to even wants what you have. You have to run to God,” she advised.

Ghanaian reggae and worship leader Akesse Brempong has shared some wonderful memories and testimonies he has had from his first album titled ” SONGS IN THE NIGHT”.

According to Akesse Brempong the album which has songs like “Crazy Love”, “After You” has been a blessing to many people around the world and it has brought some recognitions and awards which only God deserves the thanks.

Recounting his memories on the day of the fifth anniversary of his album, the “No Weed” singer also told his followers on social media to watch out his second album titled “Blessed”.

Akesse Brempong wrote;

” 5 years ago on this day my first studio album #SONGSINTHENIGHT was released. Songs like #Crazylove #Closer #AfterYou #Holy continue to be a blessing to many souls across the globe. I Thank God for the numerous recognitions and awards this album brought our way, for the doors it opened to the world, and for the many relationships it brought our way. Now I can say “there is a God who gives SONGS IN THE NIGHT”. Watch out for 2nd Studio album #BLESSED dropping this June”.

Expected to be released in June of 2019, Akesse Brempong’s “Blessed” album will be on all streaming platforms. For more information on how to get hard copies of the album, follow Akesse Brempong on the following social media platforms;

Gospel singer, Anita Afriyie seems not believe in the power of God as Christians are told that it has the potency of solving all problems under the sun and beyond.

According to Christian believes and doctrines, God alone is able to do everything for his people according to his wishes and desires

But, the Gospel singer has disputed this by saying God’s anointing alone is not enough to make an artiste make it in the competitive music industry.

Speaking on Kumasi based Fox FM in an interview monitored by MyNewsgh.com, the famous singer said “I disagree with those who say we musicians have made the singing a business. This is because, in every work, no matter how anointed you are if you do not have money, your anointing will be wasted”

Anita Afriyie stressed, “It’s somebody who will push you to fame and that person is going to use money to promote you. Therefore if your promoter does not invest in the music, you cannot make it”

According to her, even at TV stations owned by pastors one has to pay money before you can get airtime to promote ones music.

Gospel artiste and 2017 VGMA artiste of the year, Joe Mettle has urged the government to put proper structures in place before asking showbiz players to pay tax.

According to him, though it is important to pay tax as law abiding citizens but if there are no proper systems in place to make good use of those monies paid then he sees no reason why they should pay.

The “Bo Noo Ni” hitmaker was speaking on Citi TV’s Hall of Fame which is hosted by TV and radio diva, A.J Sarpong.

“The government must put all the necessary structures in place to help the industry. They’re not really helping. They expect us to pay taxes yet they’re not ready to invest those monies back into the industry like what is done in other places”, he said.

Joe Mettle, who has also been nominated in the artiste of the year category of this year’s VGMAs was of the view that, the government should build more centres for events and should also reduce the current charge rate for the few existing event centres we have.

As opposed to popular belief, he mentioned that gospel music is really paying for him. He stated that, “Though it is a calling and a ministry, it is our chosen profession and it is our main source of income”.

The artiste manager for gospel musician Minister Isaac Sie, is asking VGMA organisers to protect the sanctity and credibility of the award scheme and further lamented about how his artiste has been sidelined in the midst of copyright infringement issues with Evangelist I K Aning.

Divine Amett-Korkoryie, who has signed Minister Isaac Sie – the musician behind the original version of viral gospel song “Boborebobo” – has beseech Charterhouse Ghana Limited, the organisers of the Voodafone Ghana Music Awards, to remove the song from all the gospel categories.

According to the Dhe-Gilly Records imprint owner, there’s a legal battle over the nominated song which makes it ineligible for a nod at this year’s ceremony.

He claimed the replacement of “Boborebobo” in the “Gospel Song of the Year” category during the just ended 3Music Awards is enough proof for Ghanaians and awards organisers to identify the rightful owner.

Mr Amett-Korkoryie told Ghanafuo.com in an interview on Thursday, April 4, that the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) have taken up the matter and have even flagged Evangelist I K Aning’s version of the song so Charterhouse should follow the suit.

He appealed on the President of MUSIGA, Bice Osei Kuffour ‘Obour’, to: “intervene in the matter and leave a legacy for posterity.”

Amett-Korkoryie stressed that: “Charterhouse should investigate and take out ‘Bobolebobo’ from all the nominated categories because it doesn’t qualify.”

He called on the organisers of VGMA to protect the sanctity and credibility of the award scheme by removing the song.

“We would also want Charterhouse to protect the sanctity and credibility of the VGMA (as they have always done) by taking out the song from all categories filed for.”